Work and study

The allowance is paid to employed and unemployed persons who have trouble finding work due to insufficient or outdated education or skills or who are at risk of losing their job.

The allowance is paid upon commencing vocational, professional higher education or Bachelor's studies in a state-commissioned study place.

Support for obtaining qualifications enables an employed person to have costs related to obtaining evidence of formal qualifications compensated. The costs are compensated after 1 May 2017 if you have passed the examination in the three-year period prior to the exam and:

• you are currently working on the basis of an employment contract or a contract under the law of obligations or you are in public service;
• you have completed respective labour market training arranged by the Unemployment Insurance Fund or
• you have completed the training, for which your employer has obtained a training grant from the Unemployment Insurance Fund..

Employers can apply for a training grant from the Unemployment Insurance Fund to

• recruit new employees,
• train employees upon changing circumstances,
• train a worker who has been previously registered as unemployed for 12 consecutive months within one year of the start of employment,
• for developing employees’ Estonian language skills from 1st of June 2018.

The training grant can be granted to legal persons governed by private law, sole proprietors who operate as employers and local government authorities.